Flavored Intravenous Ondansetron Administered Orally for the Treatment of Persistent Vomiting in Children.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: To study the serum level of ondansetron after oral administration of intravenous ondansetron, and test the palatability of the drug after being flavored. METHOD: This is a single-center prospective study enrolling children aged 3-8 years with gastroenteritis treated for persistent vomiting; patients received single dose of flavored intravenous ondansetron orally. The primary outcome was ondansetron serum level at 4 hours. Secondary outcome was palatability of the drug. RESULTS: Forty previously healthy patients presenting with acute gastroenteritis were enrolled. The mean age was 4.86±1.37 years. Serum level at 4 h had a median of 26.23 ng/ml, range (8.3-52 ng/ml). Palatability of the drug had a mean of 3.23 (of 5) ± 0.80, based on score from visual analog scale. CONCLUSIONS: Flavored intravenous ondansetron administered orally is a safe and an effective option and can be considered in the absence of the oral forms of the drug.